I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fluid couplings and, more particularly, to a quick connect coupling adapted to receive a tubular conduit having a radially outwardly extending bead adjacent a free end of the conduit.
II. Description of Related Art
There are many previously known quick connect couplings which are adapted for use with tubular conduits having a radially outwardly extending bead adjacent a free end of the conduit. Such quick connect couplings are used extensively in the automotive industry.
These previously known quick connect couplings typically comprise an elongated tubular and cylindrical housing having an axial throughbore which forms the fluid passageway through the housing. This bore is open at both ends.
One end of the housing forms a female end portion and includes an enlarged diameter portion adapted to axially slidably receive the free end of the tubular conduit until the conduit bead is positioned within the interior of the housing. Furthermore, upon insertion of the conduit into the housing, a retainer contained within the housing lockingly engages the bead to retain the housing and the conduit together.
In many applications, it is advantageous for the quick connect coupling to include a one-way valve to permit fluid flow through the coupling in only a single direction. One such quick connect coupling is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,705 which issued on Nov. 23, 1999. Such a coupling is particularly advantageous for use in the fuel supply system for a fuel injected internal combustion engine.
Such fuel injection systems for internal combustion engines typically comprise a fuel sender contained within or adjacent the fuel tank which pumps fuel through a one-way valve to a fuel rail. A quick connect coupling is conventionally contained in the fluid connection between the fuel sender and the fuel rail so that the one-way valve contained within the quick connect coupling is redundant with the upstream one-way valve.
One disadvantage of these previously known systems, however, is that debris flows downstream to the quick connect coupling with its one-way valve. Such debris can lodge within the one-way valve contained within the quick connect coupling thus causing malfunction of the one-way valve in the coupling.
The present invention provides a quick connect coupling which overcomes all of the above-mentioned disadvantages of the previously known devices.
In brief, the quick connect coupling of the present invention comprises an elongated tubular and cylindrical housing having a female end portion at one end and a male end portion at its opposite end. An axial passageway is formed through the housing which forms a fluid passageway fluidly connecting the female and male end portions together.
Unlike the previously known quick connect couplings, the housing includes a first part and a second part in which the female end portion is formed on one end of the first housing part while the male end portion is formed on one end of the second housing part. The other ends of the housing parts are then coaxially detachably secured together by any conventional means, such as a threaded connection, bayonet connection or the like. An appropriate fluid seal is disposed between the other ends of the housing parts to eliminate leakage from the quick connect coupling at the joint between the two housing parts.
A retainer is positioned within the internal bore of the female end portion which automatically lockingly engages the bead on the conduit upon insertion of the conduit into the internal bore of the female end portion. Similarly, a one-way check valve is contained within the second housing part which permits fluid flow through the axial fluid passageway in only a single direction.
Unlike the previously known quick connect couplings, however, a filter is secured to the housing adjacent the other ends of the housing parts, i.e. the ends of the housing parts that are detachably secured together, so that the filter extends across the fluid passageway. This filter is preferably a screen filter and is accessible for cleaning, maintenance or the like by simply detaching the housing parts from each other, performing the maintenance on the filter, and then reattaching the housing parts together.